Smyslov, Vassily - Geller, Efim P [A39]

Candidates qf4 Moscow (2), 1965

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0–0 0–0
This is the “pure” symmetrical setup against the English Opening. Black gets a solid
(though rather passive) position.

7.d4
Fighting for center is white’s best option if he intends to gain some opening advantage.
Trying to gain space on the queenside with 7.d3 leads, after 7…d6 8.a3 a6 9.Rb1 Rb8
10.b4 cxb4 11.axb4 b5 12.cxb5 axb5, to a roughly equal position. (White’s tempo hardly
gives him real chances of obtaining the advantage.

7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4

Theory considers this the safest approach.
The alternative 8...Qa5 will be discussed later.
Challenging white’s central knight with 8...Ng4 leaves white with an edge after 9.e3
Nge5 10.b3 Nxd4 11.exd4 Nc6 12.Ne2 d6 due to his better control over the center.
Quite interesting is the pawn sacrifice 8...d6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Rb8 which gives black
long-term compensation due to the pressure on the queenside. Still, practice has shown
that with accurate play, white can defend and remain a pawn up. Therefore the line is not
played often.

9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd3
Before finishing development, white removes the queen from the exposed “d4” square.
Trading the dark squares bishops with 10.Qh4 Rb8 11.Bh6 Be6 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 doesn’t
give any advantage since black would use the time to secure his queenside.
The alternative 10.Bg5 h6
After 10...Be6 11.Qd3 Rc8 12.b3 Qa5 13.Bd2 white is slightly better.
11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Qd2 Bg7 13.Rfd1 also leaves white with an edge due to the pressure on
the queenside. (He will vacate the long diagonal after “Rac1, b3, Nd5” leaving black’s
dark squares bishop without scope.)

10...a6
Black is heading for a “b5” advance, (This is his most reasonable plan, if he intends to
get some active play.)

11.Bd2 Rb8
After 11...Bf5 12.e4 Bd7 we reach the same situation as in the game.

12.Rac1
Not allowing “b5” advance isn’t that great since after 12.a4 Bd7 the game is roughly
equal. Black will play a5, Bc6, Nd7-c5 keeping things under control.

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12...Bf5
This is a good decision from a positional point of view. Black closes the “h1-a8” diagonal
releasing white’s pressure on the queenside. (The tempo lost isn’t that important since
black has all his pieces in play.)
The immediate 12...Bd7 is worse since after 13.c5 dxc5 14.Bf4 white gets the advantage.
(He will spoil black’s queenside pawns after “Bxb7”.)

13.e4 Bd7 14.h3

Pointless would be 14.b3 b5 (see white’s 16th move).

14...b5 15.cxb5 axb5 16.b4

This is a typical move. White is blocking the pawn on a square that is easier to attack. If
black manages to advance the pawn further he gets at least equal game. Therefore, white
avoided the “b3” move mentioned in the 14th move sideline.

16…Ra8
Black adopts the logical approach. He intends to trade his weak pawn (b5) for white’s “a”
pawn. This leaves white with an edge due to his passed “b” pawn.
Trying to improve the pieces position with 16...Bc6 leaves white with an edge after
17.Be3 Nd7 18.f4 due to his space advantage and slightly better-placed pieces.
Heading for complications is quite dangerous (white is well prepared for it) since after
18…Nb6 19.Nxb5 Nd5
After 19...Qd7 20.Nd4 white has a large advantage: he is a pawn up and black has
no compensation).
20.Na7 Nxb4 21.Qa3 Bb5
After 21...Bd7 22.Rc4 Nxa2 23.Qxa2 Be6 24.Nc6 Qc7 25.Qe2 Bxc4 26.Qxc4
black has a tough defense ahead since he lacks counter play.
22.Rfd1 Bd3 23.e5 dxe5 24.Nc6 Nxc6 25.Bxc6 e4 26.Bxe4 Bxe4 27.Rxd8 Rfxd8
28.Qxe7 white has the advantage, although black has some compensation due to the
weakness of white’s light squares on the kingside
.
17.Nxb5 Rxa2 18.Nc3 Ra8 19.b5
Winning the exchange with 19.e5 dxe5 20.Bxa8 Qxa8 is bad since black has more than
enough compensation. He has a pawn for the exchange and good prospects on the
kingside due to the chronic weakness of the light squares.

19...Ra3 20.Ra1 Qa5

After 20...Rb3 21.Qc2 Be6 22.Rfb1 Rxb1+ 23.Rxb1 white has an edge. (The position is
similar to the one in the game.)

21.Rxa3 Qxa3 22.b6 Rb8 23.Qe3

This move isn’t that “natural” (since this square is for the bishop), but white has a clear
idea (although he didn’t go ahead with it).
The alternative 23.Rb1 Be6 24.Bc1 Qa5 25.Be3 Nd7 26.Nd5 Bxd5 27.Qxd5 Qxd5
28.exd5 leaves white with a better endgame due to the bishop’s pair and the passed “b”
pawn.

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23...Qa6 24.Rb1 Be6

25.Bf1
This is a poor decision that allows black to balance the game and even improve his
chances to gain the initiative). In general, a passed pawn is strong when it can advance
further and is well supported by pieces. If not, it is a weakness. White’s move allows
black to block the pawn and attack it later, so it will become a weakness. Therefore,
white should have found a way to support the pawn’s advance. The simplest and most
logical way to achieve this was by advancing “e5” which opens the “h1-a8” diagonal,
supporting a “b7” advance). Therefore this move has to be checked.

After 25.e5 Ne8

After 25…dxe5 26.b7 Nd7 27.Nd5 Bxd5 28.Bxd5 e6 29.Bg2 white has a large
advantage (although he is a pawn down) since black cannot challenge the strong
“b” pawn.
26.exd6 Nxd6 27.b7 white’s advantage is obvious. Note that 27…Nxb7 is bad since after
28.Qf4 Qa8 29.Nd5 white has a decisive advantage. (Black cannot unpin his queenside
pieces.)

25...Qb7 26.Rb5 Bd7

Black is rearranging his pieces, taking advantage of white’s 25th move inaccuracy and
prepares to attack the “b6” pawn.
Worse would be 26...Nd7 since after 27.Nd5 Kf8 28.Nf4 white wins the pair of bishops
gaining a small advantage.

27.Rb3 Bc6 28.Bg2 Nd7 29.Nd5 Nc5

Black goes for the safest solution and prepares to drive white’s active knight away.
After the immediate 29...e6 white plays 30.Ne7+ Kf8 31.Nxc6 Qxc6 32.e5 d5 33.Bb4+
Kg8 34.Bd6 Rxb6 35.Rc3 Rb1+ 36.Kh2 Qa8 37.Qd3 getting good compensation for the
pawn due to his active pieces.

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30.Rb4
Since white has lost any chance for an advantage, he should settle for an equal game.
After 30.Ra3 Bxd5 (forced due “Ra7” threat) 31.exd5 Bf6 (defending the “e” pawn)
32.Ba5 Nd7 33.h4 the position is equal since neither side can make further progress.

30...Na6 31.Rb1 e6 32.Nc3

Better would have been 32.Nf4 Nc5 33.Nd3 (the point is that white doesn’t allow black’s
knight to remain on the powerful “c5” square) 33…Nd7 34.Nf4 and black is slightly
better, but making further progress is quite difficult.

32...Nc5 33.Rb4 Qa6

Probably at this point, black was in time trouble. This explains his remaining moves up to
the 40th move, since he didn’t do anything to improve his position. Better would have
been to concentrate on attacking the “b” pawn.
After 33...Qd7 34.Nd1 Qd8 35.Rb1 Rb7 white has a tough defense ahead.

34.Bf1 Qb7 35.Rb1

Protecting “e” pawn doesn’t solve white’s problems since after 35.f3 Bf6 36.Kg2 Bd8
37.Qd4 Qd7 38.Bh6 e5 39.Qf2 Rxb6 40.Rxb6 Bxb6 black wins a pawn, although white’s
chances to hold aren’t so bad (the pawns are on one flank and the “d” pawn isn’t that easy
to advance).

35...Qa8
Taking the pawn 35...Nxe4 36.Nxe4 Bxe4 37.Rc1 allows white to get counter play (after
“Ba5”, “Rc7”), since white can defend the “b” pawn. (This doesn’t allow black to
activate his heavy pieces easily.)

36.Bg2 Qa6 37.Bf1 Qb7 38.Bg2 Qa6 39.Bf1 Qa8 40.Bg2 Qb7
Black could gain a pawn by force after 40...Rb7 41.Kh2 Qb8 42.e5 Bxg2 43.exd6 Qxd6
44.Kxg2 Bd4 45.Qf3 Rxb6 getting a large advantage, but probably he was still playing
fast. (It is only the 40th move.)

41.Rb4 Qa6 42.Bf1 Qa3 43.Rb1

White is playing too passively and doesn’t gain any chance for counter play.
Better would have been 43.Ne2 Qa8 (trading the queens doesn’t give any advantage since
the “b” pawn is hard to attack) 44.f3 and white can get some activity after “Nd4”.

43...h5
This is a generally useful move since it gains space on the kingside and makes sortie path
for his king.

44.f3
Generally speaking, this move isn’t good since it weakens the dark squares for no
particular reason.
Better would have been 44.h4 Nd7 and black is slightly better, but improving the position
further isn’t easy.

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44...Be5
Black is acting too slowly and allows white to equalize (although white doesn’t seize the
chance). White’s last move weakened the dark squares, so seeking a way to exploit it is
natural. This leads to assessing that gaining white’s dark squares bishop would leave
white’s dark squares at black’s mercy, so “Nb3” is an option, which also threatens “Bd4”.
After 44...Nb3 45.Ne2 (this is the only way to defend against black’s threats) 45..Rxb6
black wins the pawn and gains a large advantage.
He should check white’s only obvious reply 46.Qxb6, but after 46…Nxd2 47.Rd1 Nxf3+
48.Kf2 Bxe4 49.Rxd6
A mistake is 49.Qxd6 since after 49…Qa7+ white loses on the spot.
49…h4 black has a strong attack (also from a material point of view the game is balanced
since black has two pawns for the exchange).

45.Kg2
White defends the “g3” pawn (which looks quite natural), but allows black to hold on to
his advantage. (White’s position remains passive and black manages to win the “b” pawn
by force.) Heading for activity was the right answer.
After 45.Ne2 Qa2
The endgame arising after 45...Qxe3+ 46.Bxe3 is roughly equal. Neither side can
make progress since white cannot advance the pawn and black cannot attack it.
46.Rb4 Nd7 47.Nd4 white’s active pieces allow him to hold the balance with no
particular difficulty.

45...Nd7 46.Be2
Now it’s too late for 46.Ne2 since after 46…Qa2 47.Rb4 d5 black has the initiative.

46...Qc5
After this simple move, the “b” pawn is lost.

47.Qxc5
Also after 47.Qd3 Nxb6 black wins the pawn retaining the advantage. Still, this looks
better since black has no passed pawn.

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47...dxc5 48.b7
Since the pawn is lost anyway, white makes sure that he trades the rooks in the process.
(Taking with the bishop is bad since black cannot move it without trading rooks.) This is
in his favor due to the weakness of the 2nd rank. (The rook can be used for active
operations.)

48…Rxb7 49.Rxb7 Bxb7 50.Bb5

White prepares to block the “c” pawn and drive black’s pieces back. Still, this doesn’t
bother black that much, therefore white’s other alternative was to bring his king closer to
the center.
After 50.Kf2 f5 51.exf5 exf5 black still has the advantage, but at least white manages to
trade a couple of pawns.

50...Nb8 51.Na4 Bd4 52.Nb6 Bc6

There would be some point in keeping the light squares bishops with 52...Nc6. The point
is that it is black’s good bishop and white’s bad one. (Black can attack white’s kingside
pawns easily)

53.Bxc6 Nxc6 54.Kf1

Since there is nothing better, white rushes the king to the center, keeping an eye on the
“c” pawn too .

54…Ne5
Slightly better would have been to do the same (activating the king), but from now on
black will play some inaccuracies that allows white to gain an easy draw. Instead, black
intends to make room for the king by advancing “f5”, but this is more to white’s
advantage since it trades pawns.
After 54...Kf8 55.Ke2 Ke7 black holds on to his advantage.

55.Ke2 f5
Black is going ahead with his plan, but slightly better would have been 55...c4 56.Na4
Nc6 since on “c4” the pawn is difficult to attack. (Also black keeps white’s king passive).

56.exf5 exf5 57.f4 Nc6

This allows white to trade the bishops which is to his advantage since the kingside pawns
are blocked on dark squares.
Better would have been 57...c4 58.Nd5
After 58.fxe5 Bxb6 white is lost. Besides a pawn more, black has a large
positional advantage due to white’s poorly placed pawns.
58...Nd3 59.Be3 Bg7 and white has a tough defense ahead. (The kingside pawns are
easier to attack with the bishop on the board.)

58.Be3

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58…Kf7
Black is bringing his king closer to the center. Although this looks good, it loses all the
advantage since white will manage to trade one of his kingside pawns for black’s
dangerous “c” pawn. This leaves white with weaknesses only on the kingside that are
easier to defend. (White will use the king to defend the pawns and knight for active
operations.) For black to maintain his winning chances he should hold on to the “c”
pawn. Since white can take the pawn only by using his king, black should create play on
the kingside. This can be achieved by the king (although it looks strange).
After 58...h4 (before activating the king, black has to weaken the pawns structure so that
he has something to attack) 59.gxh4
Bad would have been 59.g4 fxg4 60.hxg4 h3 since the pawn is unstoppable.
59...Kg7 60.Nd5 Kh6 white is far from balancing the game. (After “Kh5” black has good
winning chances.)

59.Nd7 c4 60.Bxd4 Nxd4+ 61.Ke3 Nc6

Even worse would have been 61...Nc2+ 62.Kd2 Nd4 63.Ne5+ since white gains the pawn
back without losing anything.

62.Nb6 c3 63.Kd3 Nd4 64.Kxc3 Ne2+ 65.Kd3 Nxg3 66.h4

After a forced line, we reach a drawn endgame since white defends the kingside pawns
with the king and attack’s the “g6” pawn with his knight (not allowing black’s king to
become active). White’s last move is precise since it makes sure that black is unable to
create a passed pawn (with a “g5” advance).

66…Ke6 67.Nc4 Ne4 68.Kd4 Nf2

Nothing is gained with 68...Ke7 69.Ne5 Kf6 70.Ke3 since black is unable to get the king
into play.

69.Ne5 Kf6 70.Nd7+ Kg7 71.Ne5 Ng4 72.Nf3 Kf6 73.Ng5

Also good enough was 73.Kd3.

73...Nh2 74.Nh7+ Ke6 75.Ng5+ Ke7 76.Kd5 Nf1 77.Kd4 Kd6 78.Nf7+ Ke6 79.Ng5+
Since black cannot make any progress, the players agreed to a draw. ½–½